On Top of The World
by xImpossibleGirl
Summary: Ella was a struggling painter, waitressing at a low budget cafe, she was just trying to make enough money for the bills. Then, she finds a strange blue box on her street corner. She meets the Doctor, who seems too good to be true. The Doctor takes Ella along with him on his journey throughout the universe. OC/Doctor (primarily friendship)
1. Chapter 1

The weird noise was forever embedded into Ella's mind as she stared out of her balcony window. She then saw something, she couldn't believe her eyes. A large blue police box appeared out of thin air - it was strange - oh so very strange. Ella jumps down from her balcony window, charging through her small studio apartment. She passed her canvas with her newest painting, a starry night, and ran out of her apartment. She slammed the door, locking it quickly. Then she went down the endless flights of stairs, her feet moving so fast she could have been flying. She finally reaches the end, pushing open the apartment buildings doors.

She runs over to the large blue box, running around it. She lets her fingers graze the sides of it, she glances up at it. Ella put her ear against the door, hearing it thrumming.. as if it had a heart beat. She lurches back from it, unsure. She raises her hand to knock on the door, no answer. Ella seems visibly disappointed, stepping back from the blue box.

"What are you doing?"

Ella whips around, her long blonde hair facing a complete stranger. The stranger had brown hair to her shoulders, and a very fiery look on her face, her chin held in the air. She folds her arms over her chest.

"I-" Ella looks over at the blue box, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." The woman insists, "Tell me, why are you running around a blue box?"

"I'll sound crazy." Ella insists.

"I know all about crazy." The woman laughs, "Come on now, spit it out."

Ella points at her balcony window, "I was just sitting up there, thinking about what colors to use for my next painting - because you see, I'm a painter. And all of a sudden, this blue box appears. Just here, it made this weird noise - and now, here it is! It couldn't have been here earlier, because I made a trip to the shop earlier."

"You're a painter?"

Ella's face flushes, "Y-Yes but that's really not the point."

"What's your name?"

"Ella Brooks, yours?"

"Clara Oswald." Clara smiles, extending a hand, "Very nice to meet you."

Ella nods slowly, taking her hand in hers, "Um. Very nice to meet you too.. Clara." She tries the name out on her tongue, "The point being-"

"Forget you saw this box."

Ella's face drops, "Excuse me?"

"This box wasn't here, you didn't see it. Consider it.. a dream! Yes, a dream, that shall do."

Ella folds her arms over her chest, "Why? Why do I need to forget this? What is so wrong with knowing about.. a police box, of all things? Fairly certain it's not in the right century, either." Ella taps the side of the box. "Just a box, nothing more, right?"

Clara gives her a small smile, "Sure. Now, I must be going. Leave the box alone. Private property and all of that, you know how London works."

* * *

Ella went up to her studio apartment, sighing as she stared at the unfinished painting. She lightly pressed her fingers against it, "What to do with you." She walked over to the balcony window, staring at the box. She suddenly got a wild idea. She took the unfinished painting and set it on her other easel. She grabbed a fresh canvas, smoothing it out. She dipped her brush in blue paint and began. The outline of the blue box appeared. After a few hours, the words 'POLICE BOX' were crisp and defined. Ella wipes her forehead, leaving a smudge of blue paint.

She paints the police box in a starry sky, swirls of other universes surrounding it. She sighs, amazed at her handiwork. Ella runs back over to the window, gazing out to see the police box still there, untouched.

Ella went over to her clothing hooks, grabbing a black coat and putting on an olive colored beanie. She goes back down the steps again, quietly. She gets to the doors, throwing it open. Ella tip toes over to the police box, amazed. She runs her fingers against the wood.

"Curious one, aren't you?"

Ella whips around to see a man with a square jaw staring her down. He has an amused glint in his eyes as he leans against the police box. The door is open, Ella realizes. Meaning he came out of it. He wears a bow tie, which have seemingly gone out of fashion.

"I-I'm sorry. I was just.. curious. That's all." Ella says, "I meant no harm.. I'm Ella!"

"The Doctor." The Doctor holds out his hand, giving Ella's a prompt shake. "My companion told me you were here earlier, poking around and such. A police box is incredibly interesting."

"But just a box." Ella finishes lamely.

"Oh no, definitely not a box! Did Clara just call it a box? Oh the nerve. This is not just a box, this is the TARDIS!" The Doctor circles the Tardis, "It can take you anywhere in the universe! It's not just a box - oh no, it is time itself!" The Doctor hits the police box with a smile.

Ella squints her eyes, "A police box can do that?"

The Doctor takes a few steps closer to Ella, his face inches from hers, "It can do so much more."

She decides to challenge him, "Such as?"

The Doctor smirks, "Don't you worry." He touches the tip of Ella's noise with a smile, "You already know too much." He turns around to go back into the police box.

"Wait!" Ella shouts, and the Doctor turns around, "How do I know too much? As far as I know, you're just a mad man with a box."

"We're going to have to kick that nasty habit of you calling the tardis a box." The Doctor says, "It was very nice to meet you, Ella. That painting of the tardis is lovely, by the way."

With that, he slams the door to the police box.

* * *

Ella dreams about the tardis. When she woke up the next morning, it was gone, and she felt a deep hole in her heart. She had been so fascinated, seeing the blue box outside, waiting for her with its mysteries. Now she just had some painting to gawk at.

She sipped her tea, dropping on her couch, sighing. Her cat, Wilson, jumps into her lap, the gray tabby purrs against her. But it does nothing to stop her thinking of the tardis. She goes to work as a waitress, taking orders, letting herself be hassled by customers. She leaves the cafe with barely any bounce left in her step.

Right as she turns the corner to her apartment building, she sees a statue. It was an angel, that she had never noticed before. She walks over to it, staring at it.

"Now what are you doing here?" Ella asks, stepping closer. Then she blinks. The angel is in a new position now, "Quite strange." Ella says, taking steps away from it, careful not to blink. The angel was in the exact same spot the blue box used to be.

She goes back into her apartment, picking up her phone, ready to call. But who does she call? 'Excuse me 911, I think this angel statue outside my apartment is moving'. They'd put her in the looney bin for sure.

So instead, she settles for locking her doors and windows. Doing her best not to sit on her balcony, to keep that angel at bay for as long as possible.

Ella would not be afraid.

She sets her painting in front of the window, hoping the image of the blue box will make it go away. When she wakes in the morning, there's a rapid knocking at her door. She pulls herself out of bed, going over to the door.

Ella opens the door, ready to complain to whoever's bothering her at this time in the morning.

The angel stands in the doorway, looking pained.

"Maybe I should have called 911." Ella breathes, slamming the door shut. The knocking begins again, "Strange, so very strange." Ella breathes, beginning to hyperventilate, "There's an angel stalking me."

* * *

_review, follow, and favorite is always lovely!_

_Ella is a character of my own creation, she is in no way affiliated with Doctor Who outside of this fanfiction._


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm going bonkers, aren't I?" She says to the angel in her doorway, "You can't be here, this is all so silly, a dream, perhaps." Ella takes a step towards the angel, eyeing it, "My, you look so sad." She blinks. When she opens her eyes, the angel has touched her, when she closes them again, she's in the middle of a busy rumbling London. Everyone around her has long dresses as they maneuver through the busy city. Ella gets up immediately, feeling out of place in her plaid pajama bottoms and white tank.

The people around her were making tisking noises. One of the women in the crowd comes up to her, wrapping a cloak around her shoulders.

"My dear my dear, who let you out like that?" The woman has graying hair, curly, shoved into a floral hat. "You must know how to be _classy_. Are you drunk, perhaps?" Her face is deeply wrinkled, as are her eyes with concern. She's wearing a dark blue dress, so long it drapes to the floor, a corset is tight around her chest.

"Um, no, just dazed, that's all." Ella shakes her head, "Thank you." She nods at the cloak, "It was very kind of you. Um, I must ask, but what's today's date?"

"You really are drunk." The woman blows air out of her cheeks, "Why, it's June 13th, 1839."

Ella's eyes almost bulge out of her sockets, "What? 1839? Did I hear you right?"

"1839 my dear, now do you have any family you need to be getting back to?" The woman puts an arm around Ella, ushering her through the bustling of London. "Are you sick, perhaps?"

Ella stops in her tracks, "No, you don't understand - I was in my apartment, and there was an angel!-"

"My stars, you're looney, absolutely bonkers." The lady takes a step back from Ella, as if she had been burned, retrieving her arm. "Please, just call yourself a cab, there's a phone booth over there." The lady then hurries away from Ella, muttering about that's the last time she'll help a crazy woman.

Ella charges towards the phone booth, unsure who she'd even call. She reaches forward to open the door, but it won't budge. She looks up then, realizing. It's the blue box! She runs around it, excitement lighting her up. She knocks on the door, waiting.

The strange man who calls himself, the Doctor, opens the door.

"There you are!" He grabs her by the arm, pulling her in, "Was wondering when you'd realize we came for you! Now now, Clara, see I told you she was a clever one!"

"Hardly, that woman pointed her to us." Clara walks over to the two.

Ella stares open mouthed at the blue box, it's so large, it's.. it's bigger on the inside. "My stars." She rasps.

"Go ahead and say it, everyone does." The Doctor leans against the control frame.

"This isn't an actual phone box is it?"

The Doctor starts laughing, running over to the controls and rummaging through them, pressing buttons. "Now _that_ is a first! Tell me she isn't clever, Clara! Oh so very clever, now we must get you home!"

Ella storms over to him, "Excuse me? Could you explain to me how I landed in _1839_? It's 2013!"

"Not here it isn't." The Doctor flips a switch that causes the police box to teeter uncomfortably, Ella grabs onto one of the bars.

"Tell me what is going on! How are you here? How are you in 1839? How am I in 1839? What is this thing? Who are you? Who are you really, what kind of name is Doctor?" Ella says, letting the questions fall out of her mouth.

The Doctor types in a few numbers, "Quite the curious one aren't you? Lets start at this. Weeping angels, if they touch you, they send you through time. This, is the TARDIS, not a police box, oh no. A time machine!"

"A time machine? You're bonkers." Ella charges for the door, but the Doctor stops her.

"I did tell you I was a mad man with a box, didn't I? Lesson number one about the Doctor." The Doctor says with a large goofy grin on his face, "I also like fez's! Oh, and bow ties, bow ties are cool."

Ella stares at him confused, "Hold on, lets start at weeping angels?"

"Shocking most people want to start at time machine." The Doctor places a finger on his chin, "The weeping angel is that stone creature that stood in your door way. Do not let them touch you. Most of all, do not blink."

"What happens when I blink?" Ella asks.

"They get you." The Doctor says somberly.

Ella feels a lump build in her throat at the Doctor's suddenly serious tone, "Are you joking?"

"Not at all."

"They are stone! They're statues, they aren't... creatures!" Ella protests. The TARDIS suddenly lands with a large shout and Ella almost falls over, but she grips the bar tighter.

"On the contrary, they're one of the most dangerous creatures of all time. Out of all creation." The Doctor stops fiddling with the knobs and buttons, "You're home."

Ella goes over to the TARDIS doors, opening it to see her boring street. Nothing had changed, not a leaf out of place. "How can this be?"

The Doctor joins her by the door, "Time machine, I was just getting to that part."

Ella looks up at him, "What are you then? You can't possibly be human, no human I know goes off in a time machine and saves the world from creatures."

"Time lord. Last of my kind."

"What happened to the others?"

"The time war." The Doctor looks sad then, "Anyways, back at home! Don't look out your windows, don't blink if you see a weeping angel, just back away and run, run as fast as you can."

Ella steps out of the TARDIS, "You're just going to leave me here?"

The Doctor furrows his eyebrows, "Well I can't see you being of much use to Clara and I. We already have one clever girl on board, not sure if I could handle another." With that, the Doctor slams the door in her face.

Ella turns away, walking towards her apartment, sad, then the Doctor opens the TARDIS door.

"Oh, and don't tell anyone about me. Best not to have rumors about me lingering through time, causes a bit of a ruckus. Don't tell anyone about Clara, or anything I just told you. I trust you, Ella."

"Of course." Ella breathes, folding her arms over her chest, "Not a word."

"Good girl." He says, then slams the TARDIS door shut again.

"Not a dog." She sings under her breath.

* * *

She dreams about London, she dreams about that woman. Ella comes to the realization that the woman she met in London is dead. Has been for about 200 years, and it saddens her. Ella decides she doesn't like time travel, and is happy the Doctor left her behind.

She wakes up and she paints, she doesn't know what else to do, so she paints. She ends up drawing a faceless Doctor, wearing a bow tie and a fez. She sets her paint brush down, sitting on her couch and staring at it.

"The Doctor." She tries out the words on her tongue, they feel foreign and fresh. "The Doctor, always saving the day." She tries again.

Ella stands up, walking over to the painting, she lets her fingertips touch the wet paint, "Who are you Doctor, what mysteries do you hide." Ella muses to herself, "Are you going to save the day this time too?"

She looks out her window to see Clara and the Doctor sitting outside of the TARDIS, each of them happily drinking tea. The Doctor see's Ella and gives her a tut tut tut motion. Ella moves away from the window, then she hears a knock at her door. She looks back out the window to see the Doctor and Clara gone.

She opens the door and see's the two of them standing in her hallway.

"Not much of a listener are we?" The Doctor asks, "Tea?" He asks, handing her a fresh cup.

"Um, sure." Ella takes the hot mug from him, "Come in."

Clara and the Doctor step into her small apartment, both of them immediately drawn to the painting.

"No, definitely not a listener." Clara confirms, eyeing the painting with a smile, "It's absolutely lovely though, we should hang this in the TARDIS."

"Mmm, we should, still wet though, guess we'll have to sit it out until morning." The Doctor plops himself down on Ella's couch. He seems so serene, so normal, it's almost easy to forget he's an alien.

Ella walks over to him, folding her arms over her chest, "Why were you outside my apartment having tea?"

"Protecting you, of course. Unprovoked weeping angel attacks? Strange, very strange." The Doctor sips his tea, making a strange face when it burns his tongue, "Oh no I was admiring the glass in your window, quite lovely."

Ella sits in the seat across from him, "This is absolutely bonkers, all of this. You, a time machine, weeping angels? I must be dreaming. None of this can be real, you're an alien!"

The Doctor keeps sipping his tea, setting it on her table, "Alien is sort of a harsh term. Aliens usually mean green skin and 'take me to your leader'. I'm not quite that type."

"What about you then, what are you?" Ella asks Clara, staring at her as Clara goes through Ella's paintings.

Clara looks up, "Oh me? Clara Oswald! Human, also the Doctor's companion." She says with a chipper tone.

"Companion?" Ella asks the Doctor.

"I take people with me across the universe." The Doctor says, "It gets quite lonely. It's best not to leave a mad man with a box alone for too long."

Ella nods slowly, "So what? How does this companion thing work? You have a family don't you? You have someone waiting for you? Yet you're running across the universe."

"It's a time machine, so the Doctor can take me back the exact second I left, it'll be as if I never left. Perks of having a time machine, you see." Clara picks up the painting of the TARDIS, "You're quite talented."

"What happened to the others then?" Ella asks the Doctor.

"They die, or they leave, because they have to." The Doctor says sadly, his eyes growing dark, void of their usual light. Ella decided he was not a mad man, she decided he was instead, a very sad sad man. A man who had seen too much, a man who had seen his entire world burn around him. Seen people come and go, all of them so human, so fragile.

He was sad.

Oh so very sad.


End file.
